Time of death can be established in a variety of ways depending on the state of the body and the environment it was kept in. Internal body temperature is taken, usually with a thermometer inserted into the anus or an incision made in the abdomen and a thermometer stuck into the cut which also imbeds into the liver, while also recording environmental temperatures. Algor mortis is the name of the slow decrease in body temperature; in room temperature a body’s internal heat generally loses one to two degrees an hour until it reaches room temperature.
Rigor mortis is the stiffness of the body; rigor mortis helps determine time of death, as the body tends to stiffen in a certain order. Rigor mortis occurs because all the muscles in the body contract and remain contracted until decomposition sets in. First the head and small muscles are first to stiffen. Then the stiffness travels from the head down the body until it reaches the legs. Rigor mortis is very temperature sensitive, which is why internal body and environmental temperatures are recorded, as the colder environments rigor mortis is slowed down while in hot temperatures rigor mortis speeds up. In room temperature, rigor mortis sets in after 3 hours and ceases after 36 hours.
Human skeleton
Like rigor mortis, decomposition has a certain order in which the body decomposes but is affected by temperature, humidity, presence of insects and whether the body is submerged in dirt or water. The five general stages of decomposition are initial decay, which is internal and shows no obvious outward signs. Putrefaction is the stage when the body produces smells as a result of gases and flesh decay. Black putrefaction gets its name for the decaying blackened flesh that occurs in this stage. The gas buildup from the previous stage increases until the body collapses which releases an even more pungent smell. Butyric fermentation causes the body to dry out. Dry decay is the slowest and last stage in which the flesh left over is decomposed until just bones are left.
Forensic entomology is the study of insects, which is used when a body has been deceased for an extended time. Forensic entomology is useful as the presence of certain insects in their life-cycles can give a rough time of death. If a body has been dead for an extended amount of time the body is usually analysed by a forensic anthropologist.
Like rigor mortis, decomposition has a certain order in which the body decomposes but is affected by temperature, humidity, presence of insects and whether the body is submerged in dirt or water. The five general stages of decomposition are initial decay, which is internal and shows no obvious outward signs. Putrefaction is the stage when the body produces smells as a result of gases and flesh decay. Black putrefaction gets its name for the decaying blackened flesh that occurs in this stage. The gas buildup from the previous stage increases until the body collapses which releases an even more pungent smell. Butyric fermentation causes the body to dry out. Dry decay is the slowest and last stage in which the flesh left over is decomposed until just bones are left.
Forensic entomology is the study of insects, which is used when a body has been deceased for an extended time. Forensic entomology is useful as the presence of certain insects in their life-cycles can give a rough time of death. If a body has been dead for an extended amount of time the body is usually analysed by a forensic anthropologist.
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